UNIVERSITY PLACE — For a few moments it looked as if Cascade bowler Paris Smith was about to have a repeat of last year’s heartbreaking runner-up finish at the Class 4A state girls bowling tournament.
That wasn’t the case this time around.
With Rogers of Puyallup’s Kristina Harris again threatening to put a halt to Smith’s state-title aspirations, the Bruins’ senior stood tall under the pressure and rolled four strikes in her final five throws to cap a 204 game and claim an individual state title at Narrows Plaza Bowl.
“I knew that if I got too overwhelmed or too in my head I would just blow it,” Smith said. “I took a few deep breaths and calmed down and just got through it.”
At last year’s state tournament, Smith led through four games before Harris rolled a 256 game to take the lead. This year, Harris took the lead in the eighth frame of the sixth and final game, but Smith showed the resilience to fight back.
“Last year my final game I had pretty much given up because I knew I needed a giant game,” Smith said. “This year I felt like I had a fighting chance. I would fight my whole way all the way through to the end, even if I was going to end up finishing second.”
Smith finished with a 1,214 six-game series, 32 pins in front of the runner-up Harris.
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